But none of this stopped the Allies from advancing in the Battle of Monte Cassino. The Allies enjoyed abundant air superiority. It was expected that the shock would provoke the Germans into giving up the Gustav Line and falling back north of the Eternal City. Churchill was furious: 'Instead of hurling a wildcat onto the shore all we got was a stranded whale.' The Germans ... applied their considerable ingenuity to an already intractable landscape. It was by all means a no win situation for the Germans. Indeed, one of the more valid motives for the invasion of Italy was the seizure of airfields in the south, from which strategic bombers could operate against Germany. Although the campaign was marred by friction between British and American commander which contributed to the escape of many of the island's defenders. The Battle of Monte Cassino reached a crescendo in May 1944 as the Allies desperately sought to carry the position held by crack German paratroopers. Despite the prodigious courage of British, Indian and New Zealand troops, the German parachutists holding the town and the high ground still hung on. Or perhaps, the whole sorry episode simply underlines, yet again, the difficulties inherent in coalition warfare. Because of the positions that the Germans had their artillery was always laid out in such a way that they can fire very easily on the incoming enemy no matter what they’re trying to attack, the hills or the valleys the Germans can attack and take them out. It is quite extraordinary how fierce these battles were when one considers that Germany was basically fighting at a disadvantage. We use cookies and similar tools to enhance your shopping experience, to provide our services, understand how customers use our services so we can make improvements, and display ads. See more ideas about battle of monte cassino, cassino, monte cassino. Here you can see stretcher-bearers as they carefully carry a casualty down a mountain track during the Battle of Monte Cassino of the Italian Campaign.. One interesting detail about the Battle of Monte Cassino is how everyone fighting for it perceived it. For much of its length the line ran along rivers, with the Garigliano, Gari and Rapido strengthening its southern sector. The battle was won but it came at a high price for the Allies. Despite this success, the Battle had come at a cost. In the Battle of Monte Cassino, the Allies faced insurmountable obstacles in their mission to break down German defenses and liberate the Eternal City of Rome. Kesselring knew from the beginning of the Allied invasion of Italy that his fight would, at best, be a slow, agonizing withdrawal. There was no way that they could hold the town and whatever else they do, it would have led them to lose the Battle of Monte Cassino one way or another. Behind every ridge lurks another river, and behind that river lurks another ridge. A perceptive private soldier's war. Secondly, assertions that Italy was the 'soft underbelly' of Europe came easiest to those whose maps lacked contours. Battle of Monte Cassino order of battle January 1944 is a listing of the significant formations that were involved in the fighting on the Winter Line January 1944 during the period generally known as the First Battle of Monte Cassino. Mark Clark (USA)Oliver Leese (UK)German CommandersAlbert KesselringHeinrich von VietinghoffF. There were over 55,000 casualties for the Allied troops in comparison to 20,000 German casualties. The Battle of Monte Cassino was fought January 17 to May 18, 1944, during World War II and saw the Allies win after four bloody engagements. Actually, the Germans were able to remove both the monks and the treasures of the abbey; and, after the bombardment ceased, they in… Yet having jettisoned the expression as far as one war is concerned, I am tempted to use it for one aspect of another. The monastery at Monte Cassino The battle for Monte Cassino embraced the mountains from the Tyrrhenian to the Adriatic Sea. This is not only the best single book on the subject but a model of how military history ought to be written. On the one hand, it seems likely that there were no Germans in the monastery at the time. Richard Holmes is professor of military and security studies at Cranfield University. It’s an incredibly sombre moment — one filled with determination and duty. The first phase of the operation (the First Battle of Cassino) comprised an attack across the Gari south of Cassino by the US 36th Division, which was savagely repulsed. An attacker advancing from the south is confronted by a heartbreaking sequence. BBC © 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The road to what was little short of hell was certainly paved with good intentions. Towering above the Liri Valley was Monte Cassino, topped by a stunning Monastery. Taking place between the 17th of January and the 18th of May 1944, Monte Cassino was a series of four Allied assaults against the so-called ‘Winter Line’, a series of German and Italian Social Republic fortifications and installations that aimed to protect the route to Rome from Allied invasion. The battle was a brutal one, lasting four months with over 55,000 Allied casualties and 20,000 Axis casualties. The Allies tried to break through three times in 1944 starting on January 17th, 144. In any event it is an unhelpful piece of shorthand. Battle of Monte Cassino - WW2 Timeline (January 17th - May 18th, 1944) The Road to Rome was blocked by the imposing Gustav Line - four major, costly assaults later and the Axis defenders were sent packing. He could not seize Rome and secure his logistic base. Monte Cassino effectively blocked the Allies route north to Rome and had to be taken despite the difficulties of doing so from a military point of view. An eyewitness who saw survivors of the 34th Division descending from the mountains wrote: 'It was more than the stubble of beard that told the story; it was the blank, staring eyes. There was so much pressure to take advantage of the changed situation, that the Allies landed in southern Italy in September without a clear strategic aim. American divisions of 5th Army would attack at Cassino to draw German reserves southwards. The best that they could hope for would be to tie down German troops who might be usefully engaged elsewhere. The second battle began on 15 February, with the controversial destruction of the monastery by heavy and medium bombers. Each time the Allies failed until the fourth try that occurred on May 11, 1944. In the event, however, Clark chose instead to strike for Rome, guaranteeing himself a place in the history books but letting the Germans escape. Battle of Monte Cassino. However, although Lucas is not one of history's most inspiring generals, in one sense it is hard to fault him. Once the Germans had decided against withdrawal, he was committed to defending his beachhead against reserves rushed to Italy from all over Europe. For some of the moral conundrums of the Italian campaign. The Germans however had a completely different view on it, for them Monte Cassino was a representation of the courage their soldiers had facing the Allies who were superior in material strength, meaning numbers and firepower. It was split into two phases as the first phase petered out and the Allies had to alter their tactics. They destroyed bridges and cratered roads. The Monastery by Fred Majdalaney.  © The restored monastery of Cassino dominates the landscape. Note: The abbey of Monte Cassino, which was destroyed by Allied bombing… There was, for a start, no prospect of Italy ever becoming more than a subsidiary theatre. The Germans decided to hold Italy as far south as possible, giving ground only gradually, and applied their considerable ingenuity to an already intractable landscape. Read more. Every time I visit the World War Two battlefields near Rome, I am struck by a sense of gloom which even the inspiring landscape fails to lift, and by a conviction that, here at least, some Allied generals failed the men they led. Neither Fear not Hope by General Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin. He fought there as an infantry officer and wrote this at the end of the war. Select Your Cookie Preferences. He was the commander of the German corps that defended Cassino for much of the fighting. In the battle of Monte Cassino and the subsequent fight for Rome in the following weeks, the Allies lost over 100,000 men. On Churchill's insistence, it would use an amphibious hook round the German flank, to be launched before the landing craft were withdrawn for use in Normandy. The Battle of Monte Cassino concluded on May 18th, 1944. Battle for Monte Cassino: Hell on a Mountaintop. To this already volatile mix were added Canadian troops, who were to distinguish themselves in the bloody battle for Ortona on the Adriatic coast; a French Expeditionary Corps, whose superb fighting quality is too often overlooked by Anglo-American historians; New Zealand and Indian divisions, both fighting bravely so far from home, and a Polish corps for which the struggle against the Germans was a matter of national honour. The First Battle of Cassino dragged on until mid-February. With German reserves duly drawn south, on 22 January 1944 Major General John Lucas's US VI Corps landed at Anzio and Nettuno. As its direct consequence, although the Gustav Line was broken and Rome was liberated, the hard-fought battle of Cassino was indeed a hollow victory. Carl Gnam. They lost about 55, 000 people by the end of the battle. Although they were often to find its effects blunted by excellent German countermeasures, and by the combined effects of terrain and climate. He gives a moving description of his own wartime service there. Mussolini was deposed and the new government made secret peace overtures. They even considered landing at airfields around Rome with Italian connivance. The German theatre commander, the tough Luftwaffe Field Marshal Kesselring, was a master practitioner of this sort of war. He castigates 'a wilful failure at the highest level to take due account of the terrible problems involved in mounting a concerted attack across such appalling terrain [which] were still being grossly underestimated a full month later'. It was one of the strongest natural defensive positions in military history, with the monastery, like some great all-seeing eye, peering down on everything. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. This never-ending battle was one of the places where the all-Nisei 100th Infantry Battalion earned their nickname “Purple Heart Battalion.” Allied Forces assumed that the Germans were using Monte Cassino as a fortified position and observation post. One particular hotspot was, as it happens, where Mark Pluciennik and I were excavating the early mediaeval monastery (9th-11th centuries) in the 1980s and 1990s, S. Vincenzo al Volturno, due east of Monte Cassino. There was almost no resistance. This is the best account of Anzio. However, they were to defend its ruins tenaciously. Apr 24, 2020 - Explore Gordon Guthrie's board "Battle of monte cassino" on Pinterest. The Battle of Monte Cassino was a game changer, because this majestic building had a bird’s-eye view of everything going on below. Then a longer thrust into the mountains north of Cassino by the US 34th Division, and a heroic attack by the North African troops of the French Expeditionary Corps on the high ground further north. Monte Cassino 1944 (Time Life) The four battles of Monte Cassino between January and May 1944 saw men from many Allied nations come to fight their way up the road to Rome, dominated by the massif of Monte Cassino with the monastery which looked down like the eyes of the enemy on the battlefields below. The Allies had come to a halt in their advance towards Rome, 100 miles on the south of Rome at the town of Cassino the Axis blocked their advance. The Fortress by Raleigh Trevelyan. As the battle grew longer their forces just increased and the Germans started withdrawing from various positions. It is important to note that Cassino was an important place of battle for both sides of the conflict, but now that the enemy is approaching what do you do ? The Battle of Monte Cassino (also called the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino) was a battle during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The Western Allies saw the monuments and it invoked the presence of God, country, sacrifice and freedom to them; the Poles saw it as a symbol of hope for their own country. forces retreated it was only logical that they would retreat to the north in the near future because of the layout of the valleys. Do you stand behind it with artillery and forces and thereby let your soldiers know that the Battle of Monte Cassino wasn’t for nothing, but that would be playing in the enemies hand, who wants you to desperately try to defend and lose the town or do you just order your troops to retreat and leave it open for the Allies to take. The Battle of Monte Cassino was one of the most important battles of World War Two. The Battle of Monte Cassino (also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino) was a costly series of four assaults by the Allies against the Winter Line in Italy held by Axis forces during the Italian Campaign of World War II. Italy’s narrow roads also weren’t much help to the Allies, because of their width the Allies had to concentrate their tanks and other vehicles which led to having hundreds of tanks in a single valley and while that can be used to the Allies advantage because of the considerable strength available it also makes them a sitting duck for the German artillery. Climate conspires with terrain to make Italy an unpleasant place to fight. Approved third parties also use these tools in connection with our display of ads. Other articles where Battle of Monte Cassino is discussed: Cassino: …German resistance in three savage battles. Cassino war cemetary. Instead, Lucas chose to hold a narrow beachhead in which to laboriously build up men and material. Last updated 2011-02-17. However, they wisely discarded this plan as too risky. This accomplished, an Anglo-American corps would land at Anzio, about 30 miles south of Rome. Cassino: The Hollow Victory by John Ellis. "Monte Cassino was an epic battle just for the courage of the soldiers who fought it. Irvin has long been fascinated by Monte Cassino and plans to release the film in 2014, to mark the battle’s 70th anniversary. The men were so tired that it was a living death. In Italy, the Allies now found themselves committed to a campaign which had possessed great political attractions but now offered manifest military disadvantages. Plans for the invasion of France were well under way. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. British and Indian troops attacked the high ground, while New Zealanders bludgeoned their way into Cassino itself. The plan of the Allies was to attack with as many divisions as possible in the South, where German forces are generally weak, that way despite heavily losses of men and resources in the first weeks of the attack they will have the resolve to fight through and win the Battle of Monte Cassino. Furthermore, the nearest Allied troops were too far away to take advantage of the shock of the bombing. In the next few days Gaeta was surrendered as well and this was part of a larger German withdrawal from east to west. Summers are blazing hot, whilst winters are freezing cold. The intention was a breakthrough to Rome. Naples '44 by Norman Lewis. He was nicknamed 'Smiling Albert' but you only crossed him once. They lost about 55, 000 people by the end of the battle. On the 4 June 1944, the Allies captured Rome, the capital of Italy. Take Over. At the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was held by Germans. However, Lucas was warned by Clark not to 'stick your neck out' in a dash for Rome. The Fifth Army's attack on the Gustav Line began on January 16, 1944, at Monte Cassino. When the Allies marched towards Cassino the Germans just left, without even a fight even though the city was a subject of many struggles in the months before. For a personal view of Anzio, this can scarcely be bettered. Outcome: German forces were dislodged from the Gustav Line, opening the way to Rome. Despite the Allies’ superior numbers the terrain and winter weather allowed the Germans to hold their ground. They had come from such a depth of weariness that I wondered if they would quite be able to make the return to the lives and thoughts they had known.'. "It was a struggle for survival against the enemy and the battlefield itself. 17 Feb 1944 : Indian 4th Division attacked Monte Cassino, Italy, failing to make advances and suffering heavy casualties. 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